I agree with RMFC, capture the dog in your garden and bring him/her to the pound, say you don't recognise the dog so thought the best place to bring him/her was to the pound. It's not theft if you're stealing something from your own front garden. I'm surprised more pets don't end up in the pound with the amount of people that open the door in the morning and kick their pets out on the street to torment the rest of the neighbourhood.
Where I live my dog and I are tormented by dogs out on the streets trying to fight with him and because they're not on leashes and very rarely have collars, it's hard to grab them to try to control the situation. I don't blame the dogs, they're probably bored and miserable from being left out on their own.
From citizensinformation - "
Stray dogs are dogs that are in a public place and are not accompanied by the owner or a responsible person. Dogs that are not under proper control are also considered stray dogs. You can receive an on-the-spot fine if your dog is not under proper control. Stray dogs may be seized by the dog warden and the Gardaí and brought to the local dog pound. These dogs may be put down or disposed of if their owners do not claim them within 5 days. If your dog has strayed or is missing, you should contact the local dog pound directly to check whether or not your dog has been picked up. Before you pick up your dog, you will have to pay a re-claim fee and produce a current dog licence. If you do not have a current dog licence, you must obtain one from your local post office before collecting your dog."
And also in relation to dog fouling - "Under new litter laws (
Section 22 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997),
it is an offence to allow a dog under your control to foul a public place. This means the owner/person in charge of the dog is required under this law to remove dog faeces and dispose of it in a suitable, sanitary manner. You can make a complaint to the District Court under the litter laws against an owner or someone in charge of a dog who allows that dog to foul public places and who fails to act responsibly. Before you do this, you must first inform the dog owner of your intention by completing a special form available from the Dog Control Unit of your local authority. You can read
more about litter laws in Ireland here."
Technically speaking the dog isn't under the control of his owner and is a stray so does that leave a bit of grey area. I guess this is why people are told to bring strays to the pound so there isn't this grey area.